Herald of the Dragon
by Tari J. Deitrich
Summary: When Cessra logged into Dragon Eternity Online, she thought it would be just a normal game like all the others she played. Now, she knows it was intended to be a death game. Her only option now is to clear the game and not die. Is that even possible?
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, all! Welcome to the double chapter of Herald of the Dragon!_

 _Before we begin, and I hope I'm not breaking any rules, here, I want to admit something. I only started this because I was hooked on the SAO TV show. But, that's not all. I was also playing an MMORPG called Dragon Eternity and thought they would make a good cross-over. Plus, I think it would be cool to play this game in virtual reality, wouldn't you?_

 _Problem is, this site doesn't have a Dragon Eternity category available so please bear with me a moment and please don't be mean and flag this story. If you think this is a violation of the rules, please let me know. I don't know how far I'm willing to take this and I don't really have a plan so I'll probably either not finish it or I'll just remove the story entirely._

 _This is still an SAO fanfiction. In fact, most of the characters you'll meet in this story is from SAO. But, the rest of the story line follows quests and stuff from Dragon Eternity._

 _For those of you who don't play DE, I've included some footnotes to help you guys along just so I don't have to take the time to explain everything in the actual story itself. Also, if anyone knows how to add categories to the site, please let me know so I can request the addition of DE to the game category._

 _Anyway, everyone enjoy. And please R &R._

* * *

ˁ Prologue ˀ

 **Date:** October 31, 2022

I sat quietly on the couch with my eyes glued exclusively to the TV screen. Colored lights flashed before my eyes. I watched as the setting changed from a fast run through a forest trail to a high mountain overlooking an enormous chasm. Through the thick cirrus clouds, we could just make out the outline of a floating city.

The screen went black except for bold, white text in the middle of my sixty-four-inch flat screen:

" **DRAGON ETERNITY ONLINE".**

Once that was over, the local news began broadcasting the latest news developments around town. Helicopter footage, voice-overs, and real-time video showed everything as far as the eye could see. Every shop was bursting to the seams with people waiting for their copy of the new VRMMORP that had released today. Sadly, only tens of thousands of the games were available for purchase.

I had already gotten mine.

" _Hi there! Time for this weeks MMO stream."_ Said the perky news lady. _"You just saw a promo of today's featured game. And this is what today's launch day looked like. Can you guess what everyone's waiting for? Dragon Eternity Online!"_

I spaced out after that and raised myself off the couch.

"I'm going to go play now." I told my mother who was busy in the kitchen.

"Okay, honey." Mom said. She had the usual tired look to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." She answered, flipping through her collection of recipes.

I knew it was best not to push my mother into speaking her mind. She was stubborn and never wanted to push all her worldly problems on her children.

I took her short responses to mean she would eventually be okay with me starting the new game. I had pre-ordered it months ahead of time and it had just arrived in the mail this morning.

I headed upstairs to my room and shut the door behind me. Just before I laid down with my NerveGear in place, I checked the clock.

Almost one o'clock.

I had four hours of game time before dinner.

I at least had plenty of time to do some exploring and making it through the first few levels. That was good enough for me.

I booted up my PC, inserted the Dragon Eternity Online disk into the drive, and jammed the NerveGear headset on. After I got settled into a comfortable position on my bed, I watched the digital clock on the NerveGear face shield. I could hear the headset warming up.

Just as soon as the clock hit 1:00, I closed my eyes and smiled in anticipation.

"Link start!"

Rods of colored lights flashed before my eyes. They were all replaced by the usual system checks, all of which turned out okay. Then, I chose my language and applied.

 _Character registration._ _  
Choose Faction:  
_ _ **Sadar[1]**_ _  
_ _ **Vaalor[2]**_ _  
Choose gender:  
_ _ **Male  
Female**_

I picked on the Sadar clan for their ferocity in battle and clicked on Female.

 _Character name:  
_ _ **Must not contain vulgar or course language!**_

I thought about this and decided to go with the same game I used in every game I've ever played.

 _ **Cessra.**_

After clicking okay, the screen went dark.

 _ **Welcome to Dragon Eternity Online!**_ flashed before my eyes. Then, I was transported to the Academy of Sadar[3].

The town that appeared before me was surrounded by a high, brick wall. Vines and other creeping, green plants went all the way up over the balconies. I could see other players on other non-player characters milling around about me. I took a moment to check myself out.

Half-naked, wearing only a bra, and bikini. A leather band was wrapped around my wrist. I did a quick check of my inventory. My only weapon, so far, was a recruit's mace and a recruit's shield. I had thirty Lesser Orb of Strength[4], and an Adventure Seeker's Chest. The Orb I could use right away if I needed to. The chest I couldn't open until level 4.

I sighed. Like all users on launch day, I was expected to start at the bottom. That was fine. It wouldn't take me long to get everything I needed to beat this game.

"Hello, Adan[5]! I'm here!" I said.

* * *

ˁ Chapter One ˀ

I heard a beep and a quest icon appeared in front of me. I clicked on it and a window opened up.

 _You have received a new quest!  
_ _Saboteur in the Academy_ _ **.**_  
 _Report to_ _ **Crown-Legate Crimm**_ _for details._

I looked around and found what I was looking for. An imposing fellow in impressive-looking battle gear. His long, black hair flowing down his back. The only reason I noticed him was because he was outlined by a jagged, green circle and a chat icon floating above his head.

I closed the quest window and approached. Crimm didn't seem to notice me until I was just at the edge of his circle.

"Welcome, recruit." Crimm said. "I have a mission for you. There's a saboteur in the academy. Deal with him at once."

I didn't need to talk to Crimm. NPCs didn't interact that way. Instead, I left his company and went looking for the saboteur. It wasn't that difficult seeing as there was only one person by the academy; a cloaked figure carrying an axe and shield. He was outlined by a jagged, red circle and an attack icon hovered above his head. He stood over an NPC that was dressed in a guard's outfit.

I only paused just to equip my shield and mace. Once I was within the figure's circle, a fight initiated between us.

The fight didn't last very long. First level missions really were not that difficult. While I took some damage, I didn't feel any real pain thanks to the pain absorber program tied into the game made sure of that. When it was over, I heard bugles sound and a window opened in front of me.

 _Congratulations!  
You have received the following Item:  
Recruit's Boots_.

I grinned and closed the window only to have two more pop up. One informed me the boots had automatically been equipped and the other ordered me to report back to Crimm. Once again, Crimm didn't notice me until I was in his circle.

"Your combat performance was outstanding, recruit! The scared saboteur was going to kill the guard and escape. If it wasn't for you the poor fellow would be dead by now." Crimm said.

He held out his hands. In one gloved palm, there was a green arrow with the number 50 engraved in it, and in the other, there was a sack of gold. When I took the items, a small window informed me I had gained 50 experience points and 50 copper pieces.

 _Not bad._ I thought.

I closed the window and Crimm spoke again.

"No one can tell when the enemy will strike next. But we are the army elite and we are always ready for combat, so get used to wearing your armor all the time, soldier. Go to the shop and spend your salary on a pair of Leggings."

I didn't have to leave Crimm's presence this time. With a snap of my fingers, a menu opened in front of me. After scanning the selection of options, I found the shop and opened it.

So far, the only item I could see was a pair of brown pants worth only 2 silver pieces. Since I already had 5 silver, I paid for them and heard the bugles sound again. Once more, I was presented with 50 XP and 50 copper pieces from Crimm's hands.

A loud orchestra sounded in my ears as a window informed me I had already reached level 2 and my reward was a Recruit's Cuirass and 10 pieces of silver.

 _Thank God! Armor!_

After equipping my armor, I went on to complete a few more missions; all from Crown-Legate Crimm.

I was having so much fun defeating creatures and NPCs outside and below the academy, that it didn't take long for me to reach level four. Then, I was instructed to see Crimm again.

"In order to use Magic in combat, you will have to purchase a special Amulet of one of the three Classes: Berserk, Paladin or Witcher. The equipped amulet determines your Class. Each Class has its special properties and different Magic that is available.

"A Berserk neglects defense in favor of the ability to deal critical damage more often and wields Fire, Air, and Chaos Magic. A Paladin blocks enemy attacks more often than the other Classes and deprives the opponent of the ability to reduce taken damage. Paladin's Schools are Order, Water, and Air. A Witcher is capable of reducing taken damage and avoiding critical blows. Witcher is allowed to use the Spells of Earth, Water, and Chaos." Said Crimm.

A window opened in front of me with three options.

 _I'll take the Berserk Amulet for 2 silver.  
I'll take the Paladin Amulet for 2 silver.  
I'll take the Witcher Amulet for 2 silver._

I took a moment to think about it, then selected Berserk—I liked the thought of dealing more damage. The _cha-ching_ sound in my ear told me I had lost the required money.

Crimm held out his hand, presenting me with the amulet, more copper, and XP. After taking care of one more quest from him, I was done with his chain of quests.

Then, it was nearly 5:30.

I sighed and stretched. "Well, time to log out." I told myself; snapping my fingers together.

The menu appeared but there was something off.

 _What the- Where's the log out?_ I wondered.

"Hey!"

I turned around and saw someone just a few feet away from me. He was obviously a player but not one from Sadar because his armor was green and not blue. I wondered if it was okay for him to be speaking to me at all. From some of the game details I read, Vaalor and Sadar were supposed to be rivaling factions who could never see eye-to-eye.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Are you trying to log-out, too?" He asked.

"Yeah." I answered, truthfully. At this point, I didn't care about factions anymore. Not when there was something wrong with the game.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" He asked again, looking back at his menu in front of him. While his face was turned away from me, I took a moment to glance at his name. _Klein_.

"Yeah, I saw. There's no log-out button." I said. My voice sounded calm, but I was both confused and getting very close to panicking.

The other player shrugged. "Oh well. Today's, what, the first day out of beta? Bound to be some bugs! I bet the server people are freaking out right now!"

"Yeah." I said. "How about we just contact the game master?"

"I already did but he's not picking up."

"Huh. Now that is strange." I said.

I hadn't played any VRMMORPGs, but the online games I did play made sure any and all Game Masters were available to contact in case there was a problem. And this was a serious problem.

"Yeah, totally." The other player said. He clicked out of the menu. "But it's just a bug."

"This isn't just a bug." I said. "If we can't log out, it's going to cause some serious problems for the game."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I wonder if the developers even know what's happening, 'cause they could just shut down the server and log everyone out. But why haven't they made an announcement?"

"Hmm..."

Before we had time to react, there was the sound of a large bell ringing. Klein and I glanced at each other, then in the direction of the bells. Suddenly, Klein vanished in a flash of blue light. More blue light flooded my vision and I appeared in the middle of Sadar Academy.

The entire Academy grounds were flooded with people, all talking at once to each other until the noise became deafening.

"What's going on?"

"Does anyone know what's happening?"

"How did we end up here?"

"Who initiated the transport?"

I looked around, stunned. I didn't understand any of it either.

Just then, the bell stopped ringing only to be replaced by a loud, klaxon alarm blared overhead and we all fell silent and looked up.

* * *

1Sadar- One of the villages of Adan; the inhabitants of Sadar are known for their blood-thirsty nature.

2Vaalor- One of the villages of Adan; the inhabitants of Vaalor are known for their wealth.

3Academy of Sadar- The starting point for first-time players that choose Sadar.

4Lesser Orb of Strength - Increases damage of your current physical attack by 36%. Only one Orb can be used at a time.

5Adan- The place where Dragon Eternity takes place.


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, yes, I know I had already posted the prologue and chapter one this morning. Here's the thing, though. When I get started with a fanfiction and I'm already fully obsessed with the thing(s) that fanfiction is inspired by, I can't stop thinking about it. On top of that, I'm also getting help from the SAO episodes and transcripts, and I'm also playing DE while I'm writing this. I literally created a new character account just for this reason. Don't worry, my other character account (Shammanari) will be just fine. I'm kind of jumping between those two accounts._

 _I haven't heard any complaints or accusations yet so I'm assuming nobody really cares this is supposed to be a cross-over. I still haven't heard from anyone and I'm debating on contacting the site admins to see if they can possibly add Dragon Eternity to their game list. I'm wondering why it's not on the category list to begin with._

 _Anyway, I know this chapter is short. I debated on how much further I wanted to take it but I think the ending is perfect the way it is. Feel free to comment if I left something out or if there's something I missed. I don't always go through and correct errors because I just get so excited about finishing the chapter, I just want to post it right away. I know that's a flaw. I think everything's okay here, though._

 _Anyway, everyone enjoy. And please R &R._

* * *

ˁ Chapter Two ˀ

A red sign flashed at us, all drawing our attention to the sky.

 ** _WARNING!_** it read.

Suddenly, the entire sky was filled with a red field of **_WARNING_** and **_SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT_** icons.

"Now what?" Asked a large man beside me.

The sky light up with blue lightning and a blood-like substance leaked out from the cracks of the signs. The blood congealed and formed the shape of a person in a cloak and hood. The figure towered over us and my heart skipped several beats.

"What the hell is that thing?" Said another man beside me.

"Is that the Game Master?" Asked a man a few rows back.

"Why doesn't he have a face?" Said another.

"Is this an event?" Said another.

"I'm scared!" A young woman said. Glancing back, I saw her grab onto the arm of the young man beside her. Obviously, the two of them were very well acquainted.

"Don't worry." The man said, confidently. "It's just part of the opening ceremony."

The hooded figure spread out his hands which were covered with white gloves. "Attention, players! I welcome you to my world! My name is Akihiko Kayaba. And, as of this moment, I am in control of this world."

"Seriously!" Said a girl in front of me.

"Wow, that's some entrance." Said a guy next to her.

"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus—the log out button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is _not_ a defect. This is how _Dragon Eternity Online_ was designed to be. You cannot log yourselves out of DEO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

"What are you talking about?" Said a girl.

"Oh, come on! That's such BS! This game sucks!" A guy toward the back shouted.

"Let's get out of here." Said the Confident Man. He grabbed his girlfriend's hand and started heading for the door only to be blocked by a force field. "Hey, I can't get out!"

Kayaba didn't seem to mind the interruption. In fact, he seemed to ignore it and continued with his message. "Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the NerveGear, an unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

"Two hundred thirteen?" Said the big man beside me. He looked shocked and upset at the same time. Then again, so did everyone else.

"No way... I don't believe it!" Shouted someone behind me.

Kayaba snapped his fingers and several windows appeared. Some displayed news articles while others showed live news footage. "As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best.

"I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system . . . forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain. There is only one way for a player to escape now—you must clear the game.

"Right now, you're gathered on Floor One, the lowest level of Adan. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

 _Clear?_ I thought. _What's he talking about?_

"Why should we believe any of the crap you're saying?" Demanded someone toward the front of the line.

"We can't clear all 100 floors. . . . That's freaking impossible . . . even the beta testers never made it that high!" Someone else shouted.

Kayaba ignored all this. "Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please have a look."

 _Sneaky bastard!_ I thought, snapping my fingers to open my menu. As soon as I selected my backpack1, I noticed something there I knew I hadn't had before—after all, I had been paying close attention to the quest drops.

 _A mirror?_ I selected the new object and it materialized in my hand. Very slowly, I raised it to my face.

All I could see was my avatar. The avatars in this game were generic by gender. For men, they were strapping individuals with short, dark hair. For women, they were small and wiry with long, dark ponytails. All of us had thin faces and dark eyes. For that reason, I was confused. Why did Kayaba give us mirrors? It's not like we needed them. The game wouldn't allow avatar variations until a later level.

All around me, everyone else was sounding very confused. None of us could understand what the deal was. Is this a trick? A quest item? What did it have to do with playing the game?

Suddenly, the mirror started to give us an answer. They all lit up in a brilliant, golden light. I was momentarily blinded. And so was everyone else.

When the light cleared, I looked around and gasped. Everyone had changed! Suddenly our avatars . . . were no longer the same!

I looked down at the mirror again and saw mine had changed as well. Instead of the face of my generic, female avatar, I was staring at the face of . . .

Myself?

My hair was now light-brown, drawn back into a ponytail with my face framed by long bangs and two, smaller braids hanging down to my shoulders. My eyes were now auburn and I could clearly see the mole I hated so much just below the left one. My skin was darker now, too—a healthy shade of pinkish-white. The only thing that didn't change was my avatar's clothing.

 _But . . . how?_ No sooner had the question crossed my mind than I knew the answer. _The scan!_ There's a high-density scan inside the NerveGear rig. It can see what my face looks like.

I looked down and realized I had also shrunk by about a foot or so. Interestingly enough, my avatar's outfit and armor still conformed to my petite body. _How does the game know my height and body type?_

 _Oh right. The calibration. When I first got the NerveGear, it had me touch myself all over to collect data for all the games it was connected to._

 _But, what's the point?! Why would he do this to us?!_

As if he knew what we were all thinking—I was sure I wasn't the only one wondering these things—Kayaba spoke up.

"Right now, you're all probably wondering why. Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of _Dragon Eternity Online_ and NerveGear do this? Ultimately my goal was a simple one. The reason I created _Dragon Eternity Online_ was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of _Dragon Eternity Online._ Players, I wish you the best of luck."

With that, Kayaba vanished in a flash of lightning and the sky cleared.

* * *

1Backpack – Inventory in the game.


	3. Chapter 3

_It's been a while. I know. I kinda got into a writing mood and Ta-da! This popped out._

 _Anyway, everyone enjoy. And please R &R._

* * *

ˁ Chapter Three ˀ

 **Date:** November 14, 2022

After two weeks and several attempts at getting out of the game from various individuals, it became obvious we weren't getting out of the game until it was clear. Some of the stronger individuals pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and started trying to clear the game. Some of the weaker ones moped around and didn't do much except odd jobs here and there.

I was one of the mopers.

The game was fun when we started. Now, I felt like a prisoner. Kayaba had no right to trap us here. He had no right to make us fight this out. I wondered, multiple times, if he was just sitting in his office with a bucket of popcorn and a giant soda just watching us mill around trying to figure out how this game worked. I imagined him laughing at us. Getting a kick out of the pain of those who were too scared to go on. The thought made me angry. Angry enough to gear up and deal with a few quests here and there.

I checked my info. I was still at the beginning of level 5. Which meant, I still had my first, uncompleted, level 5 quest.

I clicked on the quest log. Three quests were logged there and I checked them all. One was inviting me to the Colosseum. And two others were just regular narrative quests. I clicked on the third.

"Report to Archmage Myratella Kharmai." Said the pop-up.

I selected "follow" and the game led me to the quest head. Archmage Kharmai was a tall, lithe woman with long, blonde hair. She paid me no heed until I stepped into her circle.

"The regalia you have there has lost its magical powers and is now a mere trinket. But don't throw it away yet. I can help you restore its energies. Find the regalia in your backpack and click use to restore the item. I'm sure you won't mind the small fee I'll take for my services?"

Realizing I had wasted my time with her, I opened my quest log and abandoned the quest. The archmage ignored me now; returning to staring off into the distance, waiting for someone else to come to her.

With my quest log still open, I selected the next narrative quest.

"Greetings, defender of the Empire! My name is Ani-Dahlia and I lead the order of the Vigilant Guards. We are the servants of the great Velet, and our mission in this world is to cleanse it from the undead. Come by my house. I wish to speak with you." Said the pop-up.

I clicked "follow" and the game led me to the Eastern Graveyard. There, near a large cabin, stood an intimidating woman with long, black hair. She carried a staff topped with a horned skull. Teal lightning sparked from her palms.

She looked at me with colorless eyes and smiled. "Souls of the dead who have unfinished business in the world of the living often try to escape the halls of peace and come back, but we, Velet's Vigilant Guard, are always wide awake and ready to stand in their way!"

A pop-up appeared before me. After using the conversation buttons, I finished the quest introduction. Bugles sounded around me. Ani-Dahlia held out her hands and presented me with XP and currency. Then she sent me around to examine graves.

I sighed. In the real world, I hadn't been very fond of graveyards. Not since my brother made me watch a zombie movie when I was six. As I entered the first graveyard nearest me, I shuttered. This was just like a zombie movie. Only difference was, the zombies weren't interested in me or anybody else, for that matter.

I stepped into the graveyard and looked around. Three headstones were encompassed by blue circles and an investigate icon hovered above them. Not wanting to start a confrontation, I skirted around the meandering corpses and touched the first tombstone; my sword ready.

No sooner had I touched it than the cover of the tomb suddenly slid to the side, and a terrible Cadaver leaped out right in front of me.

"Oh, brilliant!" I snarled as the battle tune played.

I activated my shield and held my sword at the ready. Our battle was fairly short—only lasting fifteen turns. I alternated between my three stances, favoring Attack and Manna, and blasting fireballs at the disgusting thing before it finally lost its head and collapsed.

End battle tune played and a notification window opened in front of me. I had won five XP, fifty-nine copper, and an AMULET OF CADAVER1. I clicked close and moved on to the next tombstone.

Before I had a chance to touch it, I heard a voice coming from the edge of the graveyard.

"Hey."

I turned around and saw a tall, lanky, red-haired man garbed in the colors of Vaalor. His armor was much sturdier than mine. I assumed he had advanced quite a bit in these last couple weeks.

I stayed on my guard. It was a solid rule among the players we didn't fight each other. Even if we did, we vowed not to kill each other.

"Just saw you fighting that cadaver and wanted to say hi." Said the man.

"Okay, hi." I said.

The guy smiled. He seemed nice. I just wasn't ready to start trusting him again.

"Anything else?" I asked when he didn't move.

"Naw. Only . . . just wondering . . . how are you faring?"

"With what?"

"With . . . this death game thing?"

I stared at him. Was he really asking as a concerned fellow inmate, or was he asking because I'm a girl?

"Do you ask everyone?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Kind of. I mean, it's been two weeks and not one of us is any closer to beating the game. Just wondering how you're doing."

"Fine." I answered. I was getting antsy to continuing the quest and this guy wouldn't shut up! "How are you doing?"

He shrugged again. "Guess as good as anyone. Just working on some quests here and there. Building XP. Taking down NPC's and monsters whenever I can."

I just nodded.

"What about you?"

I was starting to get annoyed. He must've noticed because he raised his hands disarmingly.

"Hey, sorry. I don't mean to impose."

"Then why all the questions?" I demanded in a snarky manner.

"Because we're all in this together." He said. "Regardless of what faction and class we choose, we're all trapped here. I wanna make it out of this alive and I wanna see most of us make it out, too."

I felt my temper starting to fade.

"Look, we chose to play this game. We never expected for Kayaba to imprison us here for his own amusement—it was just supposed to be for fun. But this . . . this is wrong. And we can't afford to fight amongst each other all the time."

I lowered my sword. He was right. Although, there were experience points dealt to anyone and everyone who competed in the arena, we couldn't fight all the time. And there was an unspoken rule against player killing.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Cessra." I answered. "Yours?" I was merely asking out of courtesy.

"Klein." He told me. "Can I add you to my friends list?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Klein smiled, opened his menu, and pushed a few buttons. A window opened in front of me.

 _Accept Friendship Request from Klein?  
 **YES! NO!**_

I clicked "yes" and the window changed.

 _You are now friends with Klein!_

"Alright! Thanks!" Klein said. "Can I hit you up for a raid sometime?"

"Sure."

"Cool." He smiled, touched to fingers to his forehead, and saluted me. "I'll be seeing you."

"See you." With that, he took off on another quest.

I watched him go. Then, turned my attention back to the graveyard. After two more tombs had been investigated and more cadavers annihilated, my quest was complete. The game told me to head back to Ani-Dahlia. As soon as I got to her little cottage, her conversation sequence activated.

"Many of the graves have been desecrated and undead wander around the graveyard? This renegade has some nerve! Performing these despicable rituals right under our noses! I will take the amulets you found. They must have been placed on the cadavers by the Necromancer. It can't be a mere coincidence that so many people were buried with the same kind of jewelry."

A message appeared, letting me know that Ani-Dahlia had taken the amulets from my backpack. Just as I was beginning to think this quest was nothing more than a waste of time, Ani-Dahlia sent me on another task.

"The scouts who are monitoring the graveyard on my orders just reported sighting the Necromancer. But he's too powerful for them. To avoid unnecessary casualties, we will use a special ice trap. It's a simple device. To craft it, you'll need a Horn of the Shining Argar2."

I sighed. I forgot quests came in lines. I needed the quest reward, though, and accepted it.

* * *

1 **AMULET OF CADAVER-** Quest item

 **2Horn of the Shining Argar-** Quest item.


End file.
